


The Magpie's Gift

by Pandora (paperclipbutterfly)



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Gen, Inspired by The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:46:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27902452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclipbutterfly/pseuds/Pandora
Summary: It's Kitsmas time in Zootopia! Judy and Nick agree to a simple Magpie's Gift exchange to celebrate the holiday together, but when Kitsmas Eve arrives Judy finds her purse low on funds for the occasion. How's a broke bunny supposed to snag the perfect gift with time running out and only spare change to her name? Well, not by quitting, that's for sure. She'll find a way to get something worthy of her best friend and partner, even if it means giving up something she loves in return.
Relationships: Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde
Comments: 29
Kudos: 34





	The Magpie's Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I was very busy in November writing a bunch of different things for NaNoWrimo, and this is one of those things. Enjoy a short little holiday fic with our two favorite dopes based on a short story by O. Henry. 
> 
> May your holidays be pleasant and your worries few. <3

In the heart of wintertime, the world fell asleep under blankets of white snow and there was little for mammals to look forward to other than cold and hunger. An old legend said that the Magpie would come and give those with a benevolent spirit a shiny trinket to light their way through the long, dark nights, for the Magpie remembered well those mammals who showed kindness and those who bore ill will when bounties were aplenty. It was a little gift, but a welcome one, something to cherish when the cold crept in and food was scarce.

Over time, the Magpie’s Gift became a simple tradition mammals did during Kitsmas with friends and family. An exchange of something small and meaningful to help each other through the biting cold edge of winter. Presents took on any number of shapes and sizes nowadays, of course, though the form didn’t really matter. At its heart, the thought was more valuable than the cost of the gift.

Nick and Judy had been looking forward to it for months. Nick—who hadn’t had anyone to do a Magpie’s Gift exchange with in his adult life—was elated to be able to have a real exchange with his best friend and partner. And Judy was going to make sure his first exchange was everything he’d ever hoped it would be, no matter what it cost to make that happen. For months nothing else was more important to her, and she put aside as much as she could up until the eve of the holiday.

Which was eleven dollars and nineteen cents.

That was all the money Judy managed to save. Half a year, and all she had for a gift was eleven dollars and nineteen cents.

Back at home, everyone was assigned a family member to buy for, and Judy always had enough for something nice by the end of the year. But that was when a part time job was more than adequate to save for anything she wanted to buy. Living in the city was expensive. Judy did her research before ever setting foot on the train out of BunnyBurrow. She knew very well when she moved that most of her paycheck would evaporate immediately, consumed by rent, food, phone, subway fare. A police officer’s pay only went so far, and it was only at this moment that Judy truly appreciated that it wasn’t very far at all.

She hadn’t mismanaged, either. Judy did the math often, especially this last month as the holidays approached. Rent at the Grand Pangolin Arms was $1750 a month. Food, even though she didn’t eat out much, another $400. Subway fare $200. Phone $120… Muzzletime was a necessity, and not cheap. It all added up. Or subtracted out. Or whatever.

And now here she was, the day before Kitsmas—Nick’s first real Kitsmas in decades—with eleven dollars and nineteen cents left over to buy a present for him. She stared at her bank balance and willed the numbers to be different, the decimal point to shift back one place, two. Please.

Of course, that didn’t happen. There was no changing it. If she wanted to get him something nice—something worth giving him—she’d have to get creative.

But how? She wasn’t craftsy, and she didn’t exactly have any other marketable skills other than knowing the penal code, how it applied, and when. At least, nothing that would net her the kind of money she’d need in a night.

She looked around the dingy little apartment. Rickety bed, greasy walls, crazy neighbors. Frugal living here, when so much time was spent at work and outdoors. The music in her ear changed abruptly to a somber tune and she skipped to the next track. A much livelier beat now, thankfully. The arguments next door had kicked up to a whole new level once the holidays were in sight. Thank God for her trusty iPaw.

Wait…

Judy looked down at the little music player and turned it over in her palm. It wasn’t new anymore, but it was still in practically new condition. No dings or scratches or knicks. The color was a limited run, too, and hadn’t faded at all.

She put on her coat and walked right out the door. Her legs moved with a will all their own through the fading sunlight and slowly brightening streetlights. All the way to Gulo’s Paw-N Shop.

She all but barged through the door, straight to the counter and the old wolverine sitting there. He was graying around the temples, and wore a plaid shirt that looked only nominally clean; it was impossible to tell through the hideous mix of colors and lines. He was eating what smelled like an egg-salad sandwich that was minutes from going bad. If he was at all concerned by her approach or the brusque manner with which she demanded his attention, his expression didn’t show it in the least.

“How much can I get for this?” she asked, and set her iPaw on the counter.

The wolverine (Gulo himself, if Judy were to venture a guess), leaned over and chewed thoughtfully. He flipped it casually over with his claw and swallowed as he leaned back in his chair.

“Forty bucks,” he said, and flashed a smile accented with gold teeth before he took another bite of his sandwich.

“That’s it?” Judy’s ears drooped, and then shot up again. “Come on, sir, can’t you do better than that? It’s Kitsmas! Fifty, at least.”

Gulo tucked the food to one side of his mouth and said, “Forty-five if you include the charging cord and earphones.” He added graciously, “If you spend your money here, I’ll add another five bucks in store credit.”

Judy looked around the cluttered shop filled with both the old and the new, items that ranged from rings and collectible spoons to a guitar signed by George Hareson. Even if the organizational system left a lot to be desired, it was a veritable smorgasbord of treasures. Surely there would be something worthwhile to get for Nick here.

Judy reached over the counter. “Deal.”

Gulo flashed his golden, eggy smile at her again and accepted her paw. “Deal. I imagine you’ll want to peruse the selections now. You let me know when you’ve found a sparkly that tickles your fancy.”

Judy zipped around the shop in truly haphazard fashion, bolting from here to there without any real system herself, or idea of what it was she was looking for. Nothing kitschy, not a joke gift. It had to be something that he would be proud of, that he wouldn’t even know he wanted until he had it…

It all but beckoned to her from one of the cases in the corner, tucked amongst a varied collection of rings and jewelry. Unassuming, like him, but all the same tasteful and sharp. A shining, sterling knot tie pin with a chain and a brilliant emerald stone in the center. Almost as green as his eyes; it was impossible to match them, of course, but this… this came so very close. She pressed her paws and her nose against the glass and pointed.

“That.”

Gulo shuffled over with his keys in his paws, unlocked the case and plucked it out from the velvet display.

“The lady has a good eye,” he said, and regarded it with a simple appreciation, as a mammal who has held such finery before in his life does. “And as luck would have it, just within your price range. An even trade, and I’ll throw in a box. For the holiday.”

Judy balled her paws beneath her chin, eyes glistening. “I’ll take it.”

* * *

Judy could hardly contain herself when Nick came over for dinner that night. It was a meal made of cheap takeout, but they were eating it together in a room strung with little white fairy lights and the tiniest tree set upon Judy’s desk. He hadn’t even taken off his jacket yet and her arms were around his middle in a death squeeze.

“Whoa, easy does it, Fluff,” he managed to say. “I’d rather if this Kitsmas wasn’t my last one.”

She laughed and let him go, then took his jacket to hang up.

“Mmmm, food smells great.” Nick nudged the door closed, then cast his eyes around and swiveled his ears. “Where’s all the Kitsmas music to go with it?”

“Hmm?” Judy turned distracted, mind already hours ahead in her anticipation of what his face would look like and only half registered his question some seconds after he asked it. She waved her paw at him and said, “Oh, nevermind that.”

He caught her paw in his. “No, really… some carols for background? Come on, bring out the iPaw of Never-ending Playlists.”

His voice was so insistent it caught her off-guard. She didn’t even know he liked having the background music on when he visited her; he made little remarks about the names of the songs or the artists every so often in that teasing way he had, she was sure it wasn’t anything he cared very much about.

“Okay, so, thing is…” She twisted an ear between her paws, suddenly self-conscious. “Well, see, I didn’t have much in the bank for Kitsmas and, well… I kinda sold it.”

Nick blinked at her dumbly. “You… sold it?”

“Yeah, at the pawn shop on the corner of Pack and Herd.”

He grimaced. His ears twitched and swiveled around again, listening for a something that was no longer there and wouldn’t be no matter how much he wanted it.

“You really did? It’s really gone?”

“Yes! Don’t worry about it, it’s not a big deal, who cares, right?” She sat on the edge of her bed and indicated the plastic containers on the desk. “Come on, have dinner with me. You won’t even notice there’s no music once we start eating.”

Nick sighed deeply and reached into his pocket. He came forward and pressed a plain wrapped box into her paws with a sad kind of smile.

“Didn’t mean to be pushy, Carrots… just a bit of a bummer. I guess I botched this whole gift thing, after all.”

Judy’s nose twitched. “What?”

He pointed. “Open that and you’ll get it.”

It wasn’t Kitsmas yet, but Judy still tore into the paper wrapping to a shiny white box. In the box was the set of wireless earbuds that she’d had her eye on all year long. The ones with the pinpoint precision decibel levels and touch sensitive playlist controls and… and…

“Oh, Nick, it’s…” Big bunny emotions were welling in her heart and she hugged the box to her chest. She dashed to the desk and the little tree just to do something to offset it. “It’s okay, though, because look.” She took her own little wrapped box and held it out to him. “Look what I bought for you with the money I got from the pawn shop. Isn’t it just so sharp? It’ll look so great on your dad’s silk ties, right?”

The paper fell away. Nick stared at the little black, crushed velvet box and the tie pin inside, and shook his head with a little chuckle.

Judy frowned. “What’s funny? Come on, put it on. I want to see—”

“It’s great, Carrots. Really, it is.” He closed it slowly and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. “Look, don’t worry about it. Let’s just sit down and eat, okay? See… I sold all my dad’s silk ties to get the ear buds.”

It was only then she realized he wasn’t wearing one over his red sweater vest and collar-shirt ensemble like usual. And they stared at each other a moment—a little moment, just staring—and then burst out laughing.

Dinner tasted like a feast fit for kings. They sung each other carols by the twinkling glow of the tiny white lights and the little tree on the desk for this, their first Kitsmas.


End file.
